[Facilitators, barriers, and strategies for expanding the use of food intake markers in primary health care].

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the facilitators, barriers, and strategies for the use of food intake markers by primary health care (PHC) professionals. The responses of 235 healthcare health care professionals to an electronic questionnaire were used to develop a script for virtually conducted focus groups. In 10 focus groups, 34 professionals from healthcare and management positions from all Brazilian macroregions were included, and the transcripts were thematically analyzed. Healthcare professionals and managers emphasized the need for infrastructure to properly use the markers, pointing to the lack of equipment and connection instabilities as the main barriers. Managers highlighted the possibility of its use by any professional as a facilitator, whereas healthcare professionals positively indicated the structure of the markers. However, participants mentioned the lack of awareness about their importance as a barrier. Despite its slowness, the accessibility of the platforms to register the markers emerged as a facilitator, as did its conditionality with public policies, especially when linked to financial incentives. The focus groups allowed the exchange of strategies, such as continuing education, training for typists, ways to use markers in health care spaces, and expansion of data dissemination. Investment in infrastructure, professional training, and collaboration between PHC teams, with the sharing of strategies, configured crucial factors to strengthen the use of food intake markers.